1963 Chevrolet Nova Gauge Cluster - Vital Signs

Installing Classic Instruments’ new ’63-65 Nova Cluster.

We just recently swapped a GM Performance Parts 350 crate engine and Gearstar 700-R4 into a '63 Nova wagon (Super Chevy Nova Annual 2011). The engine and trans work flawlessly, and the car is a much better piece to drive now that the inline-six and Powerglide are gone. One thing that still sort of bothered us, though, was the lack of instrumentation from the factory. It has just a speedo and fuel gauge with the other things like oil pressure and water temp just having warning lights. We wanted the peace of mind that comes with real gauges, so we installed a cheapo triple gauge pack under the dash. Well, that works, but we wanted something that looked better and put all the gauges up in the cluster so we could keep our eyes on the road and not darting all over the place looking at needles.

Since we are in the know here at Super Chevy, we knew exactly who had what we needed. Classic Instruments just released a new gauge cluster for the '63-65 Novas that features all the gauges our car needed in a clean and easy-on-the-eyes package. The new cluster has a speedo, oil pressure, water temp, fuel, volts, and even a 10,000-rpm tach all lit up by LED lighting. The cluster is designed to use the stock outer bezel and fit into the opening in the dash without modifications.

The instruments are marine-quality and Air-Core type that are damped to minimize erratic pointer movements from things like a big lumpy cam. Basically you get high-grade electronic units like those found in luxury and modern muscle cars.

The Nova cluster comes in multiple font and color options and is wired for ease of installation. We decided on the black with orange pointer Velocity series. Since all the gauges are electronic units, Classic provides the oil and temp sensors along with a pulse signal generator to convert the cable-driven speedo to an electronic unit (it will work with electronic transmissions as well).

For the fuel gauge, Classic made that even easier by making the new gauge work with the stock 0-30 ohm sending unit so there is no need to drop the tank. The tach works with just about any ignition system out there from standard points to HEI. The instruments are thoroughly tested and certified for accuracy and quality before being boxed up for shipment. The install is pretty straightforward, requiring minimal tools, a few lengths of wire and basic wiring knowledge. If you can read a simple schematic and crimp on some terminals, you can do it.

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1 Here is the stock cluster in our ’63 Nova. As you can see, it is devoid of a bunch of gauges, and even the cheapest of today’s econo boxes have full gauges—even a tach. Why should our Nova miss out?

2 The Classic Instruments Nova cluster comes with everything you would need for the job, except the tools, a few lengths of wire and a couple of ring terminals. There will be no need to run to the parts store for a fitting, as all the specific stuff is included like sending units, speed pulse generator and crimp-on terminals. The unit comes in a multitude of color, font and pointer options, so make sure to log onto the company’s website to see them all. The unit also comes with a new scratch-resistant lens, which is not shown in the picture.

3 There are a few items that will be reused from the stock cluster, namely the outer bezel, green turn-signal inserts, and the diffuser. To get the cluster out of the car, you will need a Phillips screwdriver to undo the cluster and a 1/2-inch socket to drop the column. Dropping the column down will give you just enough clearance to slip the cluster out of the dash.

4 The new cluster comes with the turn-signal isolation tubes already installed and where the green turn-signal inserts go. Without the isolation tube, the blinker light would illuminate all over the gauge face, so make sure these stayed in place during shipping.

5 The stock diffuser drops right on top and neatly frames each gauge area. If you want a more custom look, you could paint the diffuser a different color. We decided to stay with the flat-black factory finish.

6 Classic Instruments provides a new scratch-resistant lens so you can see the gauges as clearly as possible. It comes protected with sticky paper that needs to be removed. Take care not to get any fingerprints on the new lens, especially on the inside surface where you can’t get them off after installation. We handled the lens by the edges as to not transfer any fingerprints.

7 After slipping the new lens into the stock bezel, we mated it with the new gauge cluster using the stock screws.

8 These DIP switches on the back of the unit adjust the speedometer on the new cluster. Per the instructions, we set 5, 6, 7 and 8 to the open position as an initial setting. Our speedo reading ended up being perfect, but we will go over how to adjust it later in the story.

9 With the cluster complete, we moved onto installing all of the new sending units. We started with the pulse signal generator (PSG) for the speedo that hooks to the transmission. It threads on just like the factory speedo cable and converts the spinning cable to an electric signal the new gauge will read. The wiring harness gets plugged into the PSG and is routed right where the factory speedo cable ran after we got it off the car.

10 For the temperature sending unit, we are putting it right where the factory one was on the intake manifold. Putting it here will allow us to use the factory wiring without modification.

11 We swapped out the senders as quickly as possible to minimize coolant loss. When you hook up the new sending unit, make sure to leave the large washer at the bottom of the stud and then drop on the terminal, washer and nut. Also, do not use any type of thread sealant on this and the oil sender as it can affect the ground and, in turn, the performance of the gauge.

12 For the oil sending unit, we decided to install it above the oil filter instead of in the stock location on the top of the block by the distributer. There just wasn’t enough clearance for us to work without pulling the distributer and it was easier to extend the stock wire down to the new sender location.

13 Moving back into the car, we needed to generate two keyed 12-volt wires. We used two inline taps on the main wire coming off the back of the ignition switch. We would have used the fuse block, but the extra spade provided was used to power the transmission. Not shown is the new wire we ran that went to the tach terminal on the HEI.

14 Two new ground wires also need to be created, but that was as easy as running in a self-tapping screw right into the dash brace that is right behind the cluster.

15 To make life easier, it’s a good idea to tag all the factory wires. If you forget to do this, not to worry—the factory cluster has the wire colors stamped on the back of the housing to let you know what went where.

16 Since we are using the factory wires to carry out new signals, we needed to install the proper terminals for the plugs on the new cluster. Classic provides the plug housing and the terminals, along with detailed instructions on what wires go where. You will, however, need the special crimpers that can put the proper crimp on these terminals.

17 Here is a good shot of what the crimp-on terminal should look like before you snap it into the plug housing.

18 Speaking of snapping, once all of the new terminals were crimped on we followed the instructions and snapped the wire into its proper location.

19 After that, we neatly tucked the wiring into the dash and then slipped in the cluster. Since the cluster is in the stock bezel, reinstallation is a snap. We put in the four screws and then slid the column back up.

20 Now that’s what we’re talking about! The Classic Instruments cluster looks great. We did a quick test of the lights before we fired up the motor. All of the gauges work great, and luckily we had no leaks at our new senders so we could go out to calibrate the speedo.

21 Remember the DIP switches we showed you earlier? Well, those will be used to adjust the speedo. Using a GPS, we took the car out and ran it up to 60 mph. With the GPS reading 60 mph, we looked at what the speedo was reading. Lucky for us it was reading 60 so we were good. But if it was giving a different speed, let’s say 65 mph, it’s an easy fix. We would have to go and place the number 4, 7 and 10 switches into the open position. There are 80 different switch combinations to contend with readings from 41 to 119 mph to bring you back to a 60-mph reading. Our gauges work perfectly. The needles sweep nice and smooth, the fuel gauge was dead on, and the LED lighting really lets them shine at night. Now we can throw out the extra gauges we have hanging from the dash and take advantage of the Classic Instruments cluster.